David
Kong, Founder and Principal of DEI Advisors and former President and CEO of
Best Western Hotels & Resorts, will be presented with the ALIS Lifetime
Achievement Award during the 23rd annual the Americas Lodging Investment Summit
(ALIS) on January 22-24, 2024, in Los Angeles. This prominent award is
presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the
hospitality industry through their actions, deeds, and great accomplishments.
Kong is the Founder and Principal of DEI Advisors, an Arizona non-profit
organization. Kong retired as President and CEO of Best Western Hotels &
Resorts at the end of 2021. He led the company to unprecedented growth,
transforming it and expanding its portfolio from one brand to 18 distinct
brands in every chain scale segment and achieving successive new records in
RevPAR and EBIDA growth. Prior to Best Western, Kong held leadership positions
with KPMG Consulting, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Omni Hotels & Resorts and Hilton
International.
Kong, a Hong Kong native,
has received numerous awards and accolades including the Lifetime Achievement
Awards from Business Travel News, International Hotel Investment Forum and
HSMAI. He was the recipient of the inaugural Arne Sorenson Social Impact Award
presented at ALIS in 2022. He was also recognized for his innovation by Hotel
Interactive and Guest Lab (Italy) in 2020. GBTA presented him with the WINiT
Best Mentor/Male Coach award in 2021. Kong served as the Chairman of the
American Hotel & Lodging Association in 2010 and was appointed to the U.S.
Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Advisory Board for three years.
"David is one of those leaders with a hospitality-to-the-core mentality,
and his strong ethics and commitment to mentoring and creating more diversity
throughout the industry are among the many hallmarks that make him a perfect
recipient of this award,” said Jeff Higley, president of The BHN Group. “His
vision of reinventing a single brand founded in 1946 into a successful
multi-branded conglomerate is a lesson in perseverance and tenacity that we can
all learn from. We’re proud to have someone with such a diverse and successful
background join the list of exceptional leaders that comprise the past winners
of the ALIS Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Registration for ALIS 2024 is open. Additional information and registration is
available on the ALIS website.
For general information and sponsorship opportunities, contact Valerie Feng,
Associate of The BHN Group. Produced by Northstar Travel Group, in association
with the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and The BHN Group, the
two-and-a-half-day ALIS event features an extensive array of seminars and
panels hosted by leading experts and investors discussing important trends and
identifying new opportunities. The conference attracts the lodging industry’s
leading hotel executives, investors, lenders, developers, and professional
advisory community. In addition, registration for ALIS Law
and the inaugural ALIS DESIGN+
are also open.